Independent redistricting initiative falls short of ballot

Updated 9:04 pm, Monday, March 12, 2018

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The campaign for a proposed constitutional amendment that would have taken control of redistricting from state legislators and given it to an independent commission didn't submit enough valid signatures to put the measure before November voters, South Dakota's chief elections official said Monday.

Secretary of State Shantel Krebs' office said in a statement that a random sampling of signatures collected by Citizens for Fair Elections found that the group turned in about 25,300 valid signatures, not the nearly the 28,000 needed for the proposed constitutional amendment to go on the general election ballot.

Krebs said supporters submitted roughly 34,000 signatures total, but only 74 percent were found to be valid. The rejection could be challenged in court.

The amendment called for switching control of the legislative redistricting process from legislators to an independent commission of nine people, with no more than three from any one political party. It mirrored an amendment that voters rejected in the 2016 election.

Charles Parkinson, chairman of Citizens for Fair Elections, said the group will discuss its options, but that the chances of a court challenge are "slim."

Redistricting is the process of redrawing electoral district boundaries every 10 years to account for population changes. When the process is carried out by elected officials, it often sparks lawsuits and claims of gerrymandering — attempting to draw the districts for political advantage.

Republicans control every statewide office and hold supermajorities in the state Legislature.

"I would be much more comfortable if a group that was not politically lopsided was making those decisions," said Parkinson, a Republican. "What is the problem with a multi-partisan approach to this?"

The South Dakota Republican Party opposed the unsuccessful 2016 amendment. GOP Sen. Jim Bolin has said the proposal would give away power to nonelected officials to decide on something the Legislature did well in 2011.